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Sources: President will stay at Holiday Inn off Constitution

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BATON ROUGE- The Secret Service and local law enforcement spent Wednesday getting a local hotel ready for President Obama's arrival.

Multiple sources confirmed to WBRZ, the President will stay at the Holiday Inn off Constitution Avenue. The massive effort to secure the spot where President Obama will sleep began weeks ago when the Secret Service arrived and conducted sweeps of the hotel.

Todd Sterling watched the large law enforcement presence and was shocked at the spectacle it created.

"I looked out of the window and saw all the cops with M-16 machine guns," Sterling said. "I wonder if it was a bomb threat."

But, the scene unfolding outside the hotel was one of precaution.

Workers at the hotel told WBRZ, the hotel was sold out even though there were no cars in the parking lot. Sources with the Secret Service tell WBRZ, agents have been staying there for a week. The reason why the President isn't staying at a swanky high-end hotel is because they were booked up for Governor John Bel Edwards' inauguration Monday. We've learned it's customary for secret service agents to stay at a location well in advance of the President's arrival.